VigLink’s Affiliate Links Get More Up-To-Date (And Lucrative) With A New Link Optimizer

VigLink is announcing an update to its VigLink Convert product that should help affiliate links stay up-to-date.

The company promises to make publishers more money through affiliate links, i.e., links to online merchants that can earn a commission if they lead to a purchase. With Convert, VigLink turns standard, existing links into affiliate links. (And it works with 30,000 online retailers.)

However, CEO Oliver Roup said that over time, the links can become outdated, in the sense that they’re no longer pointing to the merchant who will earn them the most money. So VigLink’s new optimizer will dynamically change the link. At any given point in time, the links should automatically connect to the affiliate program that will make the most money for the publisher without requiring any extra work.

Roup argued that this should “bring liquidity to a very illiquid market,” because it creates more pressure for merchants to offer commercially appealing terms to publishers. Over time, he said the larger vision is to optimize affiliate links the same way that display ads are optimized: “Where you see links pointing are a function of who you are and the state of the world.”

VigLink says it has been testing the feature with a few customers already, including Huddler, and other customers can join the beta starting today. I’ll be moderating a panel with Roup and Huddler’s Dan Gill later today at ForumCon, where we’ll be talking more about the product.